Exchange rates favour online giant as sales surge

Online retail goliath Amazon has reported a huge surge in sales as the US-based firm announced substantial profit growth for the company’s latest Q2 ended 30 June 2016.

Driven by favourable exchange rates and the well-received launch into the Indian market, net sales soared by 31% year-on-year to $30.4bn (£23bn), allowing the etailer to continue to grow its registered net profit to $857m (£650m) compared to its profit of $92m (£69m).

Seattle-based Amazon said that it expected net sales to continue to flourish in Q3, estimated between $31bn (£23.5bn) to a top end of $33.5bn (£25.4bn), a growth representing 22% and 32% compared with the third quarter of 2015.

Jeff Bezos, founder and CEO of Amazon.com, said: “It’s been a busy few months for Amazon around the world, and particularly in India — where we launched a new AWS Region, introduced Prime with unlimited free shipping, and announced that Prime Video is coming soon. The team in India is inventing at a torrid pace, and we’re very grateful to our Indian customers for their welcoming response.”

During the period Amazon Prime Air and the U.K. government announced a partnership to advance the safe use of drones for small parcel delivery, providing Amazon with permission to trial new methods, including beyond line-of-sight operation.

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